1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus such as a digital still camera or a digital video camera (hereinafter referred to as a digital camera) provided with a camera shake correction function to correct camera shake occurring at the time of shooting.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an image pickup apparatus that receives light of an object image by an image pickup element through an imaging optical system and generates a digital image corresponding to the object image based on an image signal from the image pickup element. As such image pickup apparatus, a digital camera with a so-called camera shake correction function which includes a camera shake correction mechanism to correct camera shake occurring at the time of shooting has been recently commercially available.
Some of the camera shake correction mechanism employ, for example, a configuration that an image pickup element is moved within the X-Y plane perpendicular to an imaging optical axis depending on a degree of blur of an object image caused by camera shake, where a direction of the imaging optical axis of the imaging optical system as the Z-axis direction (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-231168). In the camera shake correction mechanism, a movable member in which the image pickup element is provided is held to be movable along the X-Y plane by a fixed member provided in a casing and fixed in position relative to the imaging optical system. The fixed member supports the movable member through a plurality of balls made of a magnetic material with attraction of magnetic force, thereby causing the movable member to be movable. For example, the movable member generates driving face by a permanent magnet and a coil facing the permanent magnet and is moved within the X-Y plane perpendicular to the imaging optical axis.
In the camera shake correction mechanism, a plate is provided to cover a rear side of a movable member with the movable member is interposed between the plate and the fixed member when seen in the Z-axis direction and, in which the permanent magnet or coil is provided on this plate. The plate can limit a moving distance of the movable member in the Z-axis direction with respect to the fixed member. Accordingly, the movable member is prevented from becoming incapable of returning to an original state by moving far from the fixed member, i.e., each ball in the Z-axis direction.